If you’re like me, and you have a hypersensitivity to synthetics, lately there’s this one smell you can’t seem to escape. It hits you in elevators, on sidewalks, in Ubers, in the checkout line — sharp, synthetic, and oddly persistent. It’s not quite citrus, not really wood, not exactly musk, but some lab-made imitation of all three. You’ve probably smelled it too: that dry, metallic scent that tries to be warm, but ends up sharp, overwhelming and hollow. It doesn’t smell like a person. It smells like a formula. And in the past couple of years, it’s shown up everywhere. That’s not a coincidence—it’s a chemical.

The chemical trail often leads back to Dior Sauvage — a cologne that launched in 2015 and has reached peak saturation in just the last few years. Its signature scent is built around Ambroxan, a synthetic molecule designed to mimic ambergris*: dry, woody, and sharp in that “modern masculine” kind of way.

But what’s really in the air lately isn’t just Dior — it’s the cheaper, louder knockoffs chasing Sauvage’s success. These replica scents often lean on a synthetic called Cashmeran, another lab-made compound with warm, woody scent made to evoke the feeling of cashmere. Cashmeran is cheaper, easier to get, and louder than Ambroxan — a shortcut for manufacturers who want that same bold projection without Dior’s budget or nuance. The result is a smell that’s more chemical, more clinging, and harder to escape.

This is the version of Sauvage you didn’t ask for, but can’t seem to get away from. And it’s not just unpleasant — it’s part of a bigger problem with synthetic fragrance. These molecules, whether Ambroxan, Cashmeran, or their knockoff cousins, are increasingly linked to headaches, skin irritation, hormone disruption, and even fertility problems. Worse, you’ll never see them listed on the label. They disappear under one catch-all word: “fragrance.”

*Ambergris is actually vomit from sperm whales, which after floating at sea for years evolves into a waxy substance that has a sweet, musky aroma. Now illegal in the US, it was used for centuries in perfumery, prized for it's rarity and complexity. Ambroxan is a synthetic that mimics the aroma of ambergis. 

In dense, forested habitats, like those of the Himalayan mountain belt, sight and sound don’t travel far, but scent does. For this reason the male deer from this region, named “musk deer”, evolved specialized musk glands for long-distance communication, releasing pheromones to attract mates and mark their territory with a scent so strong it carries through the forest for days. Thousands of years ago humans figured out that once dried and diluted, these musk glands produced aromas that were attractive to people as well and worked wonderfully in perfumery, anchoring lighter notes and making them longer lasting.

For centuries musk deer were hunted and their musk pods moved along the Silk Road at prices higher than gold per gram. In those days, the rarity and high costs of musk meant that perfume was a privilege only known to royalty and elites.

Perfume’s exclusivity was finally cracked open in 1888, when German chemist Albert Baur, while working on TNT-related nitrations, stumbled upon a compound that smelled uncannily like deer musk - the world's first synthetic fragrance, “nitro musk”. Synthetic musk democratized perfume: suddenly you could build warmth, complexity, and longevity without having to find and kill a rare breed of deer, making it endlessly scalable. Plus, once labs proved they could swap a rare animal ingredient with a factory-made molecule, they went after everything else - synthetic ambergris (no more whale vomit), sandalwood substitutes, replacements for jasmine and rose  - building the synthetic fragrance industry that still underpins modern perfumery today. 

The revolution of synthetic fragrance ushered in a new era, and a handful of companies stepped up to seize the moment. Scaling the chemical reactions required to make these molecules was dangerous and expensive, requiring capital, chemists, and the equipment to do it.

Over the next century, the entire fragrance industry consolidated into a tight circle of chemical manufacturers that cornered the market, known in the industry today as the Big 5: Givaudan, Firmenich (now DSM-Firmenich), IFF, Symrise, and Robertet. Together, the Big 5 operate dozens of creation centers and factories across 100+ countries and supply everyone from luxury perfume houses to mass deodorant manufacturers —a global industrial web that has quietly shaped how most of the world smells.

It’s worth noting, nitro musks - the first wave that kicked this industry off - didn’t last. By the late 1970s, data showed that they persisted in the environment, bioaccumulated in human tissue and breast milk, and showed endocrine-disruption concerns.

Regulators began to act: the EU banned nitro musks in the 1990s and later prohibited and tightly restricted others. The Big 5 pivoted to newer synthetic musks marketed as “cleaner”, claiming they are less hazardous to health, and offer better biodegradability. However, these new musks are still industrial molecules engineered for cost-savings and longevity, not skin benefit, and while they meet current industry guidelines and limitations, long-term, independent testing on human and environmental exposure is limited. 

If nothing else, the history of nitro musks is an important reminder that synthetics often get adopted for convenience, and are only questioned later after years of exposure turns out to be harmful. It's worth asking yourself: will we one day ban these current versions of synthetics too? 

"Synthetic fragrance" refers to complex blends of lab-made aroma chemicals, often derived from petroleum, crude oil fractions, or chemically processed plant matter. These synthetic compounds are designed to mimic nature, and they’re favored not for safety or skin benefit, but for cost, consistency, and shelf stability.

Molecules with names like Ambroxan, Iso E Super, Cashmeran, and Galaxolide are now the building blocks of mainstream scent as we know it today. They’re cheaper than their natural counterparts, uniform, and long-lasting—they stick to skin, clothes, and hair for hours, sometimes days.

It should also be known that many fragrance formulas include phthalates (industrial plasticizers that are known endocrine disruptors, with links to fertility issues, developmental delays, and hormone imbalance), which are used to help synthetic scent molecules adhere to skin and last longer. In the case of synthetic fragrance, phthalates are not just extras—they’re functional components that make the fragrance system work.

Here's the rub: phthalates and all of the aforementioned synthetic ingredients, along with thousands of others, are legally bundled under the word “fragrance” or “parfum” on product labels, as part of the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA), enacted by congress in 1966, that allow listing a perfume compound simply as 'fragrance' rather than naming its individual constituents. According to the International Fragrance Association (IFRA), over 3,500 chemicals are currently in use in the fragrance industry - many of them untested for long-term health effects. Part of the “fragrance” umbrella, all qualify for non-disclosure by the companies who use them.

Today, as before, the Big 5 quietly build and sell finished fragrance bases and single molecules to brands of all shapes and sizes: couture perfume, drugstore deodorant, detergent, candles, “clean” and “natural” brands included. Brands write a brief of what they want and the houses deliver a lab-built fragrance with the proper paperwork and global compliance required. On the bottle it shows up as just one (or maybe two) words: "fragrance", "parfum", or "natural fragrance".

Synthetic fragrance now saturates everyday products, in every aisle of every store. Even items labeled “unscented” can contain masking agents - fragrance chemicals added to cover up other smells.

That’s part of the problem: synthetic fragrance exists even in places you wouldn’t expect. And because manufacturers aren’t required to disclose specific ingredients, even educated consumers are sometimes denied the option of choosing which ones they want to avoid.

Synthetic fragrance isn’t neutral. The data is clear: exposure to synthetic scent compounds has been linked to numerous health issues, including:

• Hormonal disruption (via phthalates, synthetic musks)

• Fertility impairment

• Migraines and brain fog

• Allergic dermatitis

• Asthma triggers

The worst part? Many of these effects are cumulative. You don’t notice them right away. But with daily exposure—through skin, lungs, and bloodstream—they add up.

If you want a clear picture of why synthetic fragrance is such a problem, look at the current top selling deodorant on Amazon: Degree for Men's Antiperspirant ($7 for a twin pack!). On paper, it’s a pretty basic formula: aluminum salts to temporarily reduce sweat, fragrance to smell “fresh,” and a handful of stabilizers and texture agents. But when you double click, there's more you should know. First, the aluminum salt works by forming temporary plugs in sweat ducts, reducing perspiration, and working against the body's attempts at detox. "Fragrance" means the scent's formula is undisclosed; most mass produced deodorant sticks typically use blends of synthetic musks and petro-derived aroma chemicals, so we can assume the same would be true here.

The other issue is where these things go. The underarm isn’t just any patch of skin - it’s one of the most absorbent areas of the body, dense with sweat glands and lymph nodes. That means whatever you apply there can more easily enter your bloodstream. Using a product like this daily is essentially sealing off one of your body’s detox highways while simultaneously introducing a steady dose of untested fragrance blends and industrial compounds. This isn't fearmongering - this is the reality of how antiperspirants work, and why layering synthetic fragrance on top of that only increases the health risks.

Sadly, synthetic fragrance isn’t just a problem in drugstore products - it’s everywhere, even in brands that market themselves as “natural.” Again, deodorant is a prime example. You’ll see minimalist packaging, plant-based ingredient lists, and buzzwords like “aluminum-free,” but scratch the surface and two big issues tend to appear: 1) the product is bottled in plastic (a major ecological problem that can also to leach into the product over time), and 2) the scent is listed as “fragrance” or “natural fragrance” without any breakdown of what’s actually inside.

Salt & Stone is a good case study. Their popular scents - like Santal & Vetiver and Neroli & Basil - are marketed with lush, botanical imagery. But if you check the ingredient list, you won’t see whole essential oils of neroli or sandalwood (which can cost hundreds of dollars per ounce). Instead, you’ll find “Natural Fragrance” - a term that typically means a blend of lab-produced aroma molecules. Based on their own statements, their blends are made from “essential oils and synthetic isolates from natural sources.” In industry terms, that usually means a mix of:

• Naturally derived isolates: single molecules stripped from cheap bulk plant matter (like citrus peels or pine pulp) via chemical processing—cheap, consistent, but far from a whole essential oil.
• Synthetic look-alikes: lab-made molecules, often starting from petrochemicals, designed to mimic expensive botanicals like neroli or sandalwood.

Here’s the important part: Salt & Stone doesn’t have their own lab where they can chemically process plant matter to create “naturally derived isolates” or engineer synthetic look-alikes. That means the fragrances they offer are likely purchased as a complete base or custom accord, very likely from those same global conglomerate fragrance houses that supply Chanel, Dior, Degree, and everyone else. That’s how the modern fragrance industry works: whether you’re a luxury perfume or a “natural” deodorant, if you list “fragrance,” it’s likely coming from that same small, industrial ecosystem (read above: "the big 5").

And when you understand the economics, the picture gets even clearer. Real essential oils are expensive—Neroli costs $300–600 an ounce, and sandalwood goes for $200–400/oz., making it financially unrealistic for a $20 deodorant to contain meaningful amounts of either. That’s why even “natural” brands often default to industrial fragrance solutions: they’re cheaper, more stable, and easier to scale.

The end result? You’re wearing a scent that may be marketed as natural, but is actually built from the same industrial ingredients found in colognes and mainstream personal care products, just with a greenwashed brand story.

The other issue with synthetic molecules, is while they mimic the feel of real plants, they don’t deliver any of the benefits.

When we design a scent - whether in our pomades or in our deodorant - we don’t just ask: how does it smell? We ask: what does it do? Because natural fragrance isn’t passive—it’s functional.

The essential oils we use are chosen as much for their functional value as their aroma:

• Lemongrass – anti-fungal and purifying
  
  

• Palmarosa – anti-fungal and hydrating
  
  

• Calendula – skin healing and anti-inflammatory
  
  

• Rosemary Verberone – encourages circulation and hair health
  
  

• Cedar wood – anti-bacterial and grounding
  
  

• Clary Sage – anti-bacterial and calming
  
  

• Eucalyptus – anti-microbial and respiratory-supportive

This isn’t just perfume—it’s a practice. These oils are active, alive, and beneficial to both skin and spirit. They fade naturally instead of lingering artificially.

It starts with reading labels. If a product says “fragrance”, "natural fragrance" or “parfum” without full disclosure, assume the fragrance is synthetic. Avoid scents that claim to be natural without listing real plant sources. If the “fragrance” is created with essential oils, it should say so within the ingredient list. For example, when looking at common names on ingredient lists look for "essential oils of neroli and sandalwood", or when looking at INCI labels, look for "essential oils of Citrus aurantium amara [neroli] and Santalum album [sandalwood])". 

And look for brands that use only essential oils for fragrance, disclose 100% of ingredients, and avoid synthetic fixatives, stabilizers, and musks.

Fragrance shouldn’t be a health risk. We believe the future of fragrance should be rooted in transparency, integrity, and by using plant oils that add functional value to a full formula. That’s why we build all our scent blends from essential oils—no synthetics, no shortcuts, no secrets.

Lastly, this article reflects my opinions based on public sources and general industry practices; it’s not medical or legal advice. The brands named above are examples of labeling norms rather than definitive formulations.

Resources / Further Reading:

• FDA – Fragrances in Cosmetics (labeling & trade-secret basics): https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/fragrances-cosmetics

• Environmental Working Group (EWG):  https://www.ewg.org

• 21 CFR 701.3 – U.S. ingredient labeling rule: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-701.3

• IFRA Transparency List – what can hide under “fragrance”: https://ifrafragrance.org/initiatives/transparency-list

• IFRA Standards – current industry limits: https://ifrafragrance.org/safe-use/standards

• Nitro musks: bioaccumulation & regulatory actions (Australia NICNAS review):
  https://www.industrialchemicals.gov.au/sites/default/files/Nitromusks_%20Human%20health%20tier%20III%20assessment.pdf

• Scientific American – synthetic musks & environmental persistence: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scent-of-danger/

• Campaign for Safe Cosmetics:  https://www.safecosmetics.org

• NIH ToxNet / PubChem for individual chemical research: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

• Cosmetic packaging leachables: Identification of potential leachables from cosmetic plastic packaging (analytical study): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7248719/

• Recommended reading: Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson

Note: Ingredient cost ranges based on verified essential oil supplier data from Eden Botanicals, Florihana, and Mountain Rose Herbs.